Not As Obvious

“When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
‘Do you want to be well?’
The sick man answered him,
‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.’”

John 5:6-7

Have you ever been in a situation where what at first seemed obvious turned out to have several more layers to it? For example, a young child at school is not paying attention in class and does not get much work done. One of the first thoughts might be “This kid is lazy. He just wants to play.” Since the child repeatedly got out of his seat during the morning and hardly any questions on the in-class worksheet, his lunch recess is being taken away. The child is not happy and does not listen to the teacher during his time in and so a note is sent home for the parents to read, sign, and schedule for a phone call or in-person meeting. The next day the child comes to school without a signed note and the teacher had just had about enough.

After talking with the family, the teacher found out that the parents are going through a divorce and the child has been staying at several places throughout the week and the only time he ever has the chance to play and interact with friends his age is at school. After referring the child to the school psychologist it was determined that he actually has a specific learning disability. So, it is not that the child did not want to pay attention in class and learn, but because he did not even have the most foundational necessities, every other part of his life was affected.

In the Gospel today we hear about the encounter between Jesus and a man who had been ill for 38 years and who for all those years have lain there waiting for someone to put him in the pool of healing waters. Jesus asked him “Do you want to be well?” The man answered with an excuse — no one had helped him in the pool. But that wasn’t Jesus’ question. He asked if he wanted to be well, not why he was lying there. Jesus commanded him to rise, take up his mat, and walk. He did. When Jesus encounters him again later, he tells him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” There is mention of sin not physical handicap. Perhaps it was not a physical handicap that kept the man ill for 38 years but a spiritual and emotional one that weighed him down, manifesting a physical handicap. Jesus saw this, and He knew what the man needed. He didn’t need someone to help him into the pool, he needed his sins to be forgiven, and only Jesus could do that for him.

Brothers and sisters, sometimes what we need may not be as obvious, and sometimes the problems that bring us frustration and anxiety might be about something much deeper. Bring all this to prayer and let the Lord who alone knows the depths of our hearts reveal all those things to you so that you might answer the Lord when he asks, “Do you want to be well?”